


You, Above All Else

by aj_linguistik



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fanfic Request, M/M, One Shot, Some tender sweet stuffs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 00:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18884518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: For an ask on tumblr.Eugeo died. Right in front of him. But this can't be the ending. He refuses to accept it. He won't leave the cathedral until he's certain Eugeo will too.





	You, Above All Else

**Author's Note:**

  * For [destructiveoverthinker](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=destructiveoverthinker).



> A/N: I teared up writing this, actually. I got so worked up. I am very glad the tumblr user who requested it loved it.

               “EUGEOOOOO!”

               Screaming his name did nothing. As the sword broke into pieces, so, too, did my heart. I didn’t even have time to feel the horror of the grotesque sight in front of me as the broken pieces returned to their proper shape—the body of my best friend and the closest person to my heart, now split evenly down the middle and lying in a pool of his own blood. Lifeless.

               In that instant, my knees gave out. I dropped into that pool, numbly reaching out my hands to the dead body in front of me. I shook my head. No, that wasn’t right. Eugeo was going to be saved. Cardinal promised she’d let me choose ten to save. He was going to leave the Underworld with me; he couldn’t die.

               But that cold truth seeped towards me, little by little, as what was left of Eugeo’s life emptied out of him and onto the floor. Completely emptied out. I didn’t have the right authority level to command any sacred arts that would restore his life at this point. I’d die before I could perform that risky art from back in the cave in the End Mountains. I reached down and placed my hand against his cold cheek. There was no way to save him.

               Or was there?  
               Eugeo was dead. I couldn’t deny this simple fact. But it was also true that despite being an artificial Fluctlight, he was also a part of one giant program: he was data. And data could be restored. Unlike me, where if my real body were to be injured beyond repair I would have no hope of return, Eugeo’s soul likely hadn’t been deleted from the system yet. After all, Linel and Fizel had been resurrected. And the person who had done this…

               Quinella, or rather, Administrator, stepped over Eugeo and looked down at me. She didn’t tilt her head in the slightest, making a show of how little she thought me. She pointed her rapier at me and her lips twisted into a cruel grin.

               “To think, you’d be the last one standing, Irregular Unit.”

               “What do you want?”

               She frowned.

               “I want you traitors to die.”

               I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.

               “In exchange for bringing Eugeo back, what do you want?” I asked.

               She stiffened. Clearly, she hadn’t anticipated me trying to bargain with her. I locked eyes with her.

               “That’s what I want!” I shouted. “I want you to bring him back! I’ll give you anything in exchange!”

               “You have nothing to offer me.”

               I clenched my hands into fists. There had to be something. She had to want something. As a user in this system, I could easily contact Kikuoka and ask him for anything. I had that advantage, but that meant revealing to her that she could contact the outside world somehow. But she didn’t want material things. She wanted control.

               “Control…”

               She tilted her head at me, lifting her rapier more, preparing to strike me dead.

               “I’ll swear fealty to you as an Integrity Knight.”

               Her hand remained in the air, refusing to budge. She couldn’t tell what I was thinking, and she probably had the same doubts I did about such a process. Would I even be able to be synthesized, being a naturally born Fluctlight among a world full of artificial ones? I didn’t believe so. After all, I hadn’t been under the influence of the Seal of the Right Eye. Eugeo and I had both acted out against Raios and Humbert—but only Eugeo suffered physically from breaking a Taboo. As if to make a point, I brushed my bangs back, showing her my bare forehead.

               “Just promise me that you’ll bring him back,” I said, “and this sword in my hands will serve you until the end of time.”

               It was a risky bet. She kept a poker face for a good minute. I waited, with bated breath, for my answer. Eugeo didn’t have much time. His data needed to be restored quickly. At least, I wasn’t sure of the amount of time that could pass after an artificial Fluctlight’s life ended. I prayed that there was enough time. She finally lowered her rapier again. She reached one hand out to me.

               “Bring him back to life first,” I said firmly. “Or I won’t uphold my end of the deal.”

               I saw her lips curl up into a slight snarl. I’d very clearly seen through her attempt to try and synthesize me before getting what I wanted. She must have seen no value at all in resurrecting someone she’d easily converted into a knight earlier. How little did she think of life?

               “Fine,” she said.

               Even still, her confidence in getting her own way worked in my advantage. She stepped away from me and stood over Eugeo’s body. It was beginning to glow, likely signaling the deletion of his data. Administrator had been stalling, after all. She held out her hands over him and recited sacred arts that I was unfamiliar with. The glowing around Eugeo’s body changed from yellow and warm to a bright white. His body stitched itself back together, and the blood on the floor around him returned from whence it came.

               Anxious, as well as curious, I moved closer to Eugeo while remaining on the floor. The color seemed to be returning to cheeks. It might have been too soon to be relieved, but my heart felt warmer just gazing at him. After a few moments, I thought I caught his eyelids twitch. I leaned in further, tearing up as I expectantly waited.

                _Please. Please open your eyes. Come back to me._

               Slowly, but surely, those lids lifted, revealing the sparkling green irises I’d come to love. Emotion welled up in my chest. I couldn’t stop myself from crying as I reached a hand down to touch his cheek. It was warm. He stared up at me numbly. There was confusion in his expression.

               “Why…are you…crying…Kirito?”

               “I couldn’t let you go,” I said.

               The exchange was cut short when Administrator pointed her sword at me. I moved back away from him, feeling a tug at my heart. She once again extended her hand to me.

               “Fulfill your end of the bargain, or I’ll kill him again as you watch and then finish you off as well, Irregular Unit.”

               Eugeo tried to sit up. He looked confused. Our eyes met. I swallowed.

               “I’m sorry.”

               I tore my gaze away from his and turned my eyes upwards to Administrator. Her impatience was evident. The rapier in her hand shook a little in my face. I took a deep breath. Here was hoping that she couldn’t do to me what she did to other Fluctlights.

               “Remove Core Protection.”

               The same lights I’d seen over Eugeo earlier in this battle washed over me and towards my hand. I reached my hand up to meet hers. She then was able to manipulate me as she wanted to. She produced a Piety Module in her left hand and shoved it into my forehead. I expected to feel something like pain, but it only felt like a warm object being pushed into my skull.

               “K-Kirito! What’s going…?”

               Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Eugeo trying to crawl over to me. His hand was outstretched, silently telling me what his mouth wouldn’t. He didn’t want me to do this. He didn’t know why I was doing this. I gave him a sad smile and felt a tear run down my cheek.

               “I’m sorry, Eugeo.”

               She finished placing the Piety Module and stepped back. I didn’t know what was supposed to happen in that moment. But nothing seemed to happen. I still felt like myself. I slowly reached for my sword and got to my feet. She stared at me, her face unreadable. I took a few steps and picked up the hilt of Eugeo’s broken sword.

               “Come closer, Unit Thirty-Three. Tell me your name.”

               I stepped directly in front of her.

               “Kirito.”

               “Kirito…” she mumbled. “Kirito Synthesis Thirty-Three.”

               I didn’t respond. Did she not know I felt no difference, or was this normal?

               “We will complete your synthesis elsewhere.”

               She turned her back, walking over to the area where the door to the lower floors had been. As soon as she turned, I drew my own sword and thrust it forward, right between her shoulders. She let out a cry of surprise. I pushed it further, driving it through her heart from behind. She whirled around, yanking the sword out of my grasp, and she wrapped her fingers around my neck.

               “If you want me to die, you’ll die with me!” she screamed.

               One of her hands left my neck. She readjusted her grip on her rapier and then swiftly plunged it into my belly. I instinctively swept upwards with what was left of Eugeo’s sword, removing her hand from her arm. She no longer was holding me. I tossed the hand off of my neck and staggered backwards. I reached down and grasped the blade of her sword.

               “WHY WON’T YOU DIE ALREADY?”

               Giving up on the hope of removing her blade, I instead pushed myself forward, further causing myself injury, and took another swipe at her with Eugeo’s broken blade. There was enough there to cleanly sever her neck.

               “You first,” I said.

               Her body collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud. I, myself, had to drop down and take a knee. I glanced over at Eugeo for a moment, saw that he was still moving, and then dropped my gaze to the sword sticking out of my stomach. I quickly recited a healing art and yanked it out. I clutched my belly and doubled over. It still hurt. My sacred arts skills weren’t good enough to completely heal the injury, but I wouldn’t die.

               I sat up once more to see how Eugeo was doing and gasped as he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. I hadn’t seen him come over to me. He buried his face in my neck and sounded like he was sobbing.

               “You reckless moron!” he cried. “I thought she was going to kill you!”

               He let go of me and looked at me with wet eyes. With shaking hands, I cupped the sides of his face. His expression softened. I can’t imagine what my face looked like. He only worried for me because he saw me in peril. Meanwhile, I’d just watched him die. No matter how quickly things had transpired, he’d been dead.

               “Kirito, you look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said. “Is everything okay?”

               Now, it was my turn to sob. But I couldn’t simply break down now. What if this didn’t last, since the one who cast the art was now dead herself? I might not have the time. I impulsively leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. I didn’t want to let go of him, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react to such an action. I pulled away and sheepishly met his gaze as the tears began to stream down my cheeks.

               “Just…just in case,” I murmured. “Just in case I don’t get another chance to say it.”

               “To…to say what?” he stammered.

               His cheeks were burning scarlet.

               “How important you are to me,” I said. “You come before everything else in my heart.”

               I silently apologized to Asuna, but this was how I felt.

               “If that’s too forward, I apologize,” I said, staring down at my knees. “But if you leave me, it’s something I’ve been meaning to say for a long time.”

               I felt his fingers brush against my cheek. Embarrassed, I kept my gaze towards the floor. He gently lifted my chin with his hands, and then, hesitatingly, he pressed his lips into mine, returning the gesture. He held it longer than I had. My eyes slipped closed, and I kissed him back.

               “I’m not going anywhere except back to Rulid with you and Alice,” he whispered.

               Eugeo got to his feet and offered me a hand.

               “Now, let’s all three go home, okay?”

               Smiling, I took his hand and he helped me up. I nodded at him.

               “Yeah. Let’s go home.”


End file.
